Manufacturing Tomorrow
Jan Burian

A new process was designed, work instructions were modified, and the staff was trained. 
Experience has also shown us that the more complex the process change, the higher probability of failure. Problematic changes may include order management, order to expenditure, sales, and operations planning processes. People tend to prefer ideas and procedures in which they see real value at first glance. If the value of the complete proposal doesn’t jump out at them, they are likely to adopt only the parts they believe will bring immediate value. They will lean toward implementing processes that demand less effort and labor or that will help them meet KPIs that result in bonuses.

Hard experience has shown me that, to ensure lasting benefit, process change must be anchored by digital technology.  Full Article

UnitedPros
American Scale

Scale data is very important for companies to receive and record information. Nowadays, the majority of companies are still recording data by hand and transposing the information to spreadsheets or other digital formats. As technology continues to advance, many customers want to obtain the weight data in digital format directly from the scale to minimize human error and increase efficiency and reporting.
 
Getting weight data from the scale requires special equipment to allow the scales to communicate with other devices. This article will go over the different types of equipment and how they are used to communicate with the scales. The five main types of communication are: serial, ethernet, fiber optic, USB, and analog (0-10 V or 4-20 mA).  Full Article

​Automation World
Brian R. May - Managing Director, Industrial North America, Accenture

Cloud, the popular metaphor for a group of on-demand and computer-powered services, has largely played a support role for industrial operations in recent years. Today, however, the scaling flexibility of cloud can provide industrial companies optimized IT cost, agility, and a platform for growth, which are critical to their future success—and with good reason.

From the start of 2020, industrial companies faced a challenging outlook. Revenue growth and profitability were slowing due to a progressing global economic downturn and a significant drop in industrial production. Many were focusing on efficiency improvements, restructuring, and reshoring the production chain, already making the flexibility that comes with cloud technologies a necessity.   Full Article